Chapter 133

“The one who risked his life and resolved the situation on our behalf was none other than Yeon Mujin, the Manor Lord.”

Then Bukgung Dam-deok bowed his head toward Yeon Mujin without the slightest hesitation.

“S-sorry, External Protection Troops leader. I-I’m sorry. I’ll apologize on their behalf.”

“…”

“If compensation is needed, I’ll pay whatever it takes. It was also my invitation to the dangerous Hundred Ghost Manor. And I watched idly until this happened. So don’t hate them—blame me.”

Yeon Mujin looked down at the back of Bukgung Dam-deok’s head and fell into a brief reverie.

‘…This is the feeling.’

This was the feeling he had when he served under the Third Lord.

The Third young master had been mocked as a stammering fool by other brothers, but to his own people he had been this terrifying.

“Please raise your head. You’re not being blamed by the Ghost Valley Manor Lord.”

Receiving an apology from his old lord wasn’t an entirely pleasant feeling.

Even if he couldn’t even remember him.

“We don’t have time for this. If that red fish or carp is writhing in pain and making a fuss, we should hurry. Isn’t that why we came this far?”

“Y-yes. Right.”

Bukgung Dam-deok ordered Hwan Bija.

“Now, uh, quickly show us the path.”

A-Bi-Gyu-Hwan moved briskly, unlike when they first entered Hundred Ghost Mountain.

He no longer stood back with folded hands; he led from the front, urging people onward.

“To reach Hundred Ghost Lodge you must cross a stream called Screaming Lake. Cross that and pass through a cave and you’ll come right to Hundred Ghost Lodge.”

“How long do you think it will take?”

“If we only had to pass through the Ghost Valley Gorge, it wouldn’t take more than half a day.”

“Then let’s go right away.”

After walking a bit, the ground trembled as if an earthquake had struck, and mountain birds took to the sky.

“An earthquake?”

As if by cue, everyone looked at Ha Do-yeop.

“It’s because of the mountain lord.”

“…Hurry.”

Hwan Bija no longer protested and accepted Ha Do-yeop’s words.

The External Protection Troops members tapped Ha Do-yeop’s shoulder to show their trust.

As Hwan Bija had said, after moving a little further a large stream appeared.

Contrary to its ominous name, it was a river with a beautiful flow.

Along the flow, stepping-stone bridges protruded so people could cross.

When Yang Gwan-wol tried to cross the stepping-stones without much thought,

“Wait!”

Hwan Bija urgently called out to stop him.

“Why?”

“Look over there.”

Where Hwan Bija pointed, large fish had gathered along the river.

“Why fish?”

“They’re not just fish. They’re Hundred Ghost Mountain’s masters called Blood-thirsty Fish. They drink human blood to live.”

“What? No, what?”

Hwan Bija bit his finger to draw blood and scattered it into Screaming Lake.

Then,

Thud-thud-thud!

The excited fish leapt from the surface and greedily swallowed the scattered drops of blood.

“…!”

“If you tried to cross carelessly you’d become food for the Blood-Thirsty Fish. Their scales are harder than rock and their bite force is as strong as a turtle’s.”

“T-thank you for saving us…”

Frightened, Yang Gwan-wol stepped back from Screaming Lake.

“Then how do we cross? Can we leap it in one bound?”

“Blood-Thirsty Fish can leap as high as this distance when they spring up. They’re not usually gathered like this; perhaps it’s the influence of the red fish.”

Hwan Bija looked at A-Bi-Gyu-Hwan’s youngest, Ai Ja, and spoke.

“Ai Ja, can you do it?”

“Leave it to me, brother.”

Ai Ja rummaged through his clothes at Hwan Bija’s words and pulled out a small bead.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a somnolent incense to calm the Blood-Thirsty Fish.”

Aiza lit the incense and slowly let it drift into the waters of Screaming Lake.

“Gasp!”

After a moment, the Blood-Thirsty Fish flipped belly-up and began to float on the surface.

“Move quickly. I used a mild somnolent incense so it won’t last long.”

They crossed Screaming Lake carefully so as not to rouse the Blood-Thirsty Fish.

After crossing, the sleeping Blood-Thirsty Fish thrashed and awoke.

It was truly a masterful control of the incense.

“Now we only have to pass through a cave called Deathly Cave.”

“…No, Ghost Valley Gorge, Screaming Lake—does every place on this mountain have such terrifying names?”

Hwan Bija snorted and replied to Pyo Gang-hyeok’s question.

“That’s because so many have lost their lives here on Hundred Ghost Mountain.”

“Ghosts live in the gorge, fish that drink human blood live in the river, what dreadful monster lives in that Deathly Cave?”

“Rest assured. Deathly Cave is not that kind of place.”

“That’s a relief.”

“It’s just that the cave is immensely large and complex, and many people got lost and died there, hence the name.”

“…?”

“We know the fastest route through Deathly Cave, so it doesn’t matter.”

Gyu Guja boasted confidently.

But that boast didn’t last long.

The entrance to Deathly Cave was blocked by a huge boulder.

Groaning as he pushed and pulled the rock, Pyo Gang-hyeok said:

“We might have to break this or go around. Isn’t there another path?”

“Deathly Cave is so vast that going around would take a great deal of time. We might end up spending a night in the mountains. At night, ghosts that left the Ghost Valley Gorge will converge.”

The External Protection Troops shuddered in revulsion. They didn’t want to hear the cries of ghosts again.

“Then let’s break it.”

“No, there’s a simpler way. Bi Mokja.”

“Yes.”

“Put some strength into it.”

“Understood.”

Bi Mokja nodded and trudged over to the massive boulder blocking Deathly Cave.

His small stature made him look like a dwarf standing next to a giant stone.

However,

Kwa-aaak!

Bi Mokja spread his short arms and hugged the rock.

Then he planted his fingertips into the bare rock like claws.

Guguguk!

The monstrous strength to pierce rock with his fingers left the External Protection Troops doubting what they were seeing.

“Hruah…!”

As Bi Mokja exerted qi, the huge boulder began to rise slowly.

It was strength that could hardly be believed to belong to a man.

Hwan Bija said to Bimokja, who lifted the rock as if it were nothing:

“Bi Mokja, don’t throw it—set it down gently.”

“Yess…!”

Bi Mokja hoisted the rock like a dung beetle, shuffled a few steps, and gently lowered it.

He set it down slowly rather than throwing it, showing he hadn’t used his full strength.

“What absurd…”

“Se-gwang, the world is wide and there are many strong people…”

“Indeed, Senior Pyo…”

Pyo Gang-hyeok and Yu Se-gwang, who used fist techniques, were especially shocked.

The basis of a fist master is the body; they were confident they wouldn’t be defeated bare-handed anywhere in the martial world.

Today showed that that confidence had been arrogance.

“Let’s go in.”

The obstacles weren’t over.

Shortly after entering Deathly Cave, the party faced a sealed cave wall.

“Oh no…”

This time, even Bi Mokja couldn’t budge it; it seemed completely sealed.

“It seems part of the cave was blocked by the impact when Ghost Valley Gorge collapsed…”

“Can’t we just break it?”

“If the shock was enough to collapse the cave, rash meddling could bring down Deathly Cave itself.”

“Any other way?”

“Deathly Cave is as vast and tangled as an ant’s nest; you can’t know all its paths. I only know the shortest route to Hundred Ghost Lodge.”

“Then is there no option but to exit the cave and go around?”

“Hmm…”

Even Hwan Bija couldn’t come up with any better solution.

Time was critical, yet they might have to detour through Deathly Cave…

Then,

“I can hear water.”

Ha Do-yeop broke the silence and spoke up.

“What?”

“Losing one’s way in a cave is common for herb gatherers. The best method to find the way is to listen for running water. Follow it and you’ll find an exit.”

“…Can you find it?”

“I’ll give it a try.”

Ha Do-yeop put his ear to the ground and concentrated on the sounds.

He raised his head and pointed to a small tunnel beyond the broken path and said:

“I think it’s that way.”

“Let’s go check it out.”

“No. Rather than everyone moving, it’s better to pick a few to scout the path first. I’ll go and check.”

“Then I’ll come along. My long arms will help search the cave.”

Gyu Guja volunteered to go with Ha Do-yeop.

“The rest should wait outside the cave; it’s dangerous.”

Ha Do-yeop and Gyu Guja unexpectedly made a good team.

When Ha Do-yeop located the sound of water, Gyu Guja would slip his arm into narrow cave crevices and tap the walls to gauge direction.

Hearing that, Ha Do-yeop would pinpoint the exact direction and they would set the route.

Gyu Guja, impressed by Ha Do-yeop’s ability to find paths, said in admiration:

“You have remarkable skills.”

“It’s a little trick I learned growing up under my parents. They were herb gatherers who climbed the mountains.”

“Not every herb gatherer has your alertness. Impressive.”

“Compared to the elders’ abilities, it’s nothing.”

“Us?”

“I’m originally from Guiyu, and I grew up hearing of the elders’ fame.”

Gyu Guja cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away.

Memories of the times he had looked foolish before a fellow countryman’s junior came to mind.

“I didn’t know that. It was all just old hollow reputation.”

“Elder Hwan Bija was the greatest master of the Ghost path in Guiyu.”

Gyu Guja glared at Ha Do-yeop and said:

“You know that’s not a compliment, right?”

“I meant it as praise. Of course, not just him but all four elders had great reputations in Guiyu. Weren’t they all revered for their monstrous strength?”

In Guiyu, a remote borderland of the martial world, eccentrics and sorcerous arts thrived more than anywhere else.

As a result, diviners, swindlers, eccentric masters, and charlatans were abundant in Guiyu.

“Hmph.”

Gyu Guja snorted.

“Being revered for monstrous strength isn’t a blessing.”

“…”

“You can’t live an ordinary life, you can’t sit and eat among people. You have to live in desolate, eerie mountains and subsist on roots. People seek out the monstrously strong when calamity strikes, but when it passes they ostracize us as if we were the calamity itself. If I were born again I wouldn’t want to live like this.”

Gyu Guja’s voice rose with emotion as he spoke.

“People call us ugly and eccentric, but it’s the world that treated us more cruelly and oddly. Being tormented by people is scarier than being tormented by ghosts.”

His stray outburst left him choked and emotionally stirred.

He felt uneasy, as if he’d revealed too much simply because they’d spoken of shared hometown ties.

But,

“Elder, I have actually met you before.”

“…What?”

Ha Do-yeop spoke.

“When I was very young, my poor herb-gatherer parents lived deep in the mountains. One day I fell gravely ill for no reason and was near death. By chance, benevolent people passing through the mountain saved my life, and later I was told those were A-Bi-Gyu-Hwan and company.”

“…”

“Afterwards, my parents sought Hundred Ghost Mountain where you lived to repay your kindness. We thought you’d be safe living in the mountains all your life… but Hundred Ghost Mountain apparently wasn’t so easy.”

The elderly Gyu Guja sifted through his worn and tattered memories.

He easily recalled a deep night when, fleeing people’s pointing fingers with his brothers, he accidentally examined the pulse of a couple’s son.

“You…”

“My parents never returned, but I’m grateful I can at least thank you now, even if late. Thank you for saving my life.”

In the dim Deathly Cave, Ha Do-yeop bowed deeply to the savior of his life.

“You elders suffered under the martial arts world your whole lives, but you still reached out to those who sought help and showed mercy. Please know that there are people in the world who remember that kindness.”